5300 - Delacroix, Eugène

Delacroix, Eugène Lion of the Atlas. Lithograph on vellum. 32.8 x 46 cm. (1829). Delteil 79 I (of IV). This monumental depiction of a lion is one of Delacroix’s largest lithographs. Delacroix had never seen the animal up close, but in 1829 he had the opportunity, together with his friend, the sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye, to observe the dissection of such a Barbary lion at close range in Frédéric Cuvier’s laboratory at the Jardin des Plantes. According to the critic Hippolyte Taine, Delacroix later recalled that the lion’s foreleg appeared “like the mighty arm of a man.” With the title—which was added starting with the second state—Delacroix referred to the lion’s region of origin: the North African Atlas Mountains. A magnificent, extremely vigorous, and richly saturated early print, with no text and full margins. Slightly stained and with scattered foxing overall; two short, repaired tears at the top of the margin; a slight vertical crease; a short crush mark above the lion’s mane; other slight creases and signs of handling; otherwise in very good condition. Extremely rare. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog.